FAA launches new Center of Excellence for alternative jet fuels; $40M in funding over 10 years

13 September 2013

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected a team of universities to lead a new Air Transportation Center of Excellence (COE) for alternative jet fuels and the environment. Led by Washington State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the COE will explore ways to meet the environmental and energy goals that are part of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Core team partners include Boston University; Oregon State University; Purdue University; the University of Dayton; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the University of Pennsylvania; the University of Washington; Missouri University of Science and Technology; Georgia Institute of Technology; Pennsylvania State University; Stanford University; the University of Hawaii; the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and the University of Tennessee.

Research and development efforts by the team will focus on NextGen environmental goals for noise, air quality, climate change and energy. Areas of study will include new aircraft technologies and sustainable alternative aviation jet fuels.

The FAA’s COE program is a cost-sharing research partnership between academia, industry and the federal government. The FAA anticipates providing this COE with $4 million a year for each of the 10 years of the program.

The selected university members all have nationally recognized collegiate environmental and aviation-related education programs. Research projects will be performed through a partnership of senior scientists from these universities. The COE universities also will engage both graduate-level and undergraduate students in their research activities.

The FAA continues its goal to improve National Airspace System energy efficiency by at least two percent per year, and to develop and deploy alternative jet fuels for commercial aviation, with a target of one billion gallons of alternate jet fuel in use by 2018. This Center of Excellence is a valuable tool to provide the critical data we need to reach these goals.

Congress authorized Air Transportation Centers of Excellence under the Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering and Development Authorization Act of 1990. This legislation enables the FAA to work with universities and industry partners to conduct research in airspace and airport planning and design, environment and aviation safety, as well as to engage in other activities to assure a safe and efficient air transportation system.

The results of the research conducted through these Centers has resulted in enhancements to policy, guidance and overall safety improvements in many areas, including: remote airport lighting; updated training methodologies for aviation safety inspectors; advancements in Automatic Dependent Surveillance/Broadcast (ADS-B); helipad lighting enhancements for emergency medical services; a national general aviation flight information database; a national wildlife database; reduction of approach fuel burn by 10-20; and many other innovations.

Comments

"Washington, the DOE's Inspector General published a 24-page Follow-up Audit of the Department of Energy's Financial Assistance for Integrated Biorefinery Projects", which found that "despite over 7 years of effort and the expenditure of about $603 million, the Department had not yet achieved its biorefinery development and production goals." Biofuel Digest - September 18, 2013"

60 years and $2.5 billion spent on algae research at universities and nothing commercialized to date. Not a great track record.